Do pronouns matter?

April 2, 2023 | by Anne Schlafly, Eagle Forum Chairman

Commentary

The Associated Press (AP) published an article with this lead sentence on March 29, 2023:

"The shooter who killed three students and three staff members at a Christian school in Nashville legally bought seven weapons in recent years and hid the guns from their parents before carrying out the attack by firing indiscriminately at victims and spraying gunfire through doors and windows."

This sentence reads like a math word problem: how many shooters? The sentence starts with one, but then indicates multiple people. No wonder everyone is confused. The AP has trashed its own style guide for clear communication.

The purpose of language is to clearly express information and using plural pronouns in place of singular pronouns is confusing. How many perpetrators should the police search for? There was only one shooter and that shooter did not have multiple accomplices or multiple personalities. We have lost our language if our main source of daily news — the Associated Press — cannot discern the difference between one perpetrator or several people in a conspiracy in a timely news article.

The only reason that the AP would obscure the correct pronoun is because the AP has been bullied by the "transgender" activists. The AP has sacrificed reporting the truth because they are afraid of being canceled by intolerant transgender anarchists.

Note to reporters: please just report the facts and do not inject ideology into news accounts.

Anne Schlafly is the daughter of Phyllis Schlafly and Chairman of Eagle Forum.